Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations i wanna put some fish in an aquarium- NEED HELP!

ok, i wanna put some fish in a small 10 gallon aquarium because i love fish and wanna research personally and that would be so cool to raise a real wild fish. i cant afford to get a bigger tank and i have had this tank for my whole life so i was thinking maybe i could put 2 or so small bluegills in there. please tell me anything u know and if the bluegills would live in that tank and what i would feed them and what i would need to do. please

Sleet,
A number of years ago my sons caught 2 5" large mouth bass in a pond. They bought a 120 gallon aquarium, filter, gravel - the whole nine yards. They even constructed their own aquarium stand. The bass grew and thrived over the year. Soon, they were over 10"long very plump, and getting costly to feed. The two bass consumed dozens of live gold fish. The trip to the local pet store to purchase more of the above, became a weekly event. Cleaning the tank more frequently was another isuue.
The fish actually adapted to the aquarium very well. They never had any ich, fin rot, or any other type of disease. They actually became family pets. You knew right away when they were hungry because they would just stare at you when you were near their tank.
Finally, the bass did outgrow the tank. The boys let the fish swim to their freedom in another local pond. So in answer to your question, yes, you can raise wild fish with success in an aquarium provided they have enought room, and a good filtration system. A ten gallon tank could support 2 small fingerling blue gills. I don't think, however, a ten gallon tank could support them at adult size.
So go ahead an enjoy your blue gills. Kay

Sleet - Try and get yourself a larger used aquarium maybe at a garage sale. For 2 or 3 bgill 1.5" to 2" long you need a 20 to 50 gal aquarium to do it right. Sleet, if you really love fish, do not put two bluegill in a 10 gal aquarium unless they are 1/2" long. Two or more larger fish will be unhappy. A 10 gal aquarium can, if done right with filtration and aeration, only support one bluegill 1" long and expect it to be happy, healthy and grow. Almost everyone, including yourself crowds way too many fish into an aquarium. The aquarium should have double the regular filtration to maintain excellent water quality.

Do a 20% to 30% water change every week or two. This will insure healthier fish. Would you want to live in your own toilet water? This is what your are forcing these fish to do. So keep their water as clean as possible. This means water filtration which can be several types that are responsible for removing or degrading the fish waste material. Fish breathe out ammonia. Also Their waste contains ammonia and when their waste breaks down it produces ammonia. Ammonia is poisonous to fish. At fairly low amounts it slowly kills them. You cannot see ammonia in the water to know when it is too high. You have to do a simple chemical test to detect it. Simple test kits area available at the pet shop or where you buy tropical fish. Tropical fish do not like amonia either.

If you love fish like you say, Go to the library. Get & read some books on raising native fish. First read, then believe what you read, follow along closely and learn. Do not learn by killing fish due to over crowding and poor water quality. Way too many fish are killed a slow death this way.
Feed the small bluegill tropical fish food. It is a balanced diet for fish. Real small bluegill will pretty easily accept it . DO NOT OVER FEED ESPICALLY IN THE BEGINNING. Feed only what they eat. Try tubifex worms or other special diet the pet shop owner or worker can recommend as a treat for the fish. They will also eat small pieces of chopped earth (fish) worms. But try to get them to eat dried food which will make feeding them easier in winter. As the fish get bigger or you feed larger bluegill switch to ciclid fish food from the pet shop.